The purpose of the debates with the Jews
of Madinah immediately after the Prophet (sws)’s arrival was
to remind them of the forgotten status they had possessed in
the system of divine guidance which could have enabled them to
move forward and grasp the torch of guidance once again. They
were capable enough to become the right hand of the Prophet (sws)
and thus regain the position of God’s preferred nation. But
the biographies of the Prophet (sws) tell us that with the
exception of a few Jewish scholars, the Israelites in general
and a large majority of converted Jews did not accept Islam.
Hence the Qur’an, after addressing all their objections
through solid arguments, clearly stated that if they did not
profess belief in the Prophet (sws), they would be considered
damned and accursed for all time to come. This was their last
chance to recover and take the right decision. If their minds
were deluded by the belief that it was their familial right to
gain prophet hood in order to establish viceregence of God, it
was best that they removed this misunderstanding as quickly as
possible.

Establishment of
the Muslim Ummah

Looking at the arguments with the Jews,
it appears that the Quran had rejected the claim of the Jews
that they were the upholders of the leadership of the world
and that prophet hood was their national right. This is why
when the Qur’an reiterated the prophet hood of the Prophet (sws),
it also clarified that the time had come for divine acceptance
of the supplication made by Abraham (sws) in favour of the
children of Ishmael (sws) and that his progeny had taken the
reins of the Muslim ummah. This ummah had been struggling to
survive in Makkah, but God provided them the wherewithal in
Madinah. It found a place where it could breathe with safety
and peace; establish God’s religion; introduce and implement
instructions of a collective nature and structure the society
according to the norms of God given guidance. Thus, within
just a few months of migration, it became clear that a new
state with its own systems and power was coming into
existence. It members were committed and had the ability to
shape their conditions according to their needs and wishes.
Their opinions would count in this new state and those
opposing them would not be able to retain their hold.

Only a year after migration Muslims were
given instructions related to fasting and hajj, after being
instructed on prayer. The Abrahamic concepts of what was halal
(legitimate) and haram (not allowed) were highlighted. Moral
values underlying social practices necessary for the new
society were identified. People were informed of the qualities
of character necessary for sustainability of the ummah,
acquiring which, Muslims could fulfill the requirements of the
status of leadership of the world.

The Prophet (sws) did not just rely on
reciting the revealed instructions. He outlined the paths
through which these instructions could be implemented. He kept
an eye on how the companions were following the instructions.
Wherever he found an error or negligence, he corrected it and
explained the right actions. If the Qur’anic injunctions
needed detailed interpretation, he explained these too,
because the aspect of providing shari‘ah instruction was also
his responsibility. In this way, the new religion became the
focus of all attention and believers were communicating it far
and wide. Before this, the people on whom God had bestowed the
status as guides had broken their covenant, lost sight of the
right path and made changes in God’s shari‘ah according to
their wishes. Now, it was the need for humanity that the
teachings brought by the last Prophet (sws) be entrusted to
people who would protect them at the cost of their lives. They
would be witness to this new religion in every period of time,
every country, every language and never lose sight of their
responsibility in this respect. The companions were fulfilling
this responsibility in a befitting manner.

And thus we have made you a just community that you will be
witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness
over you. (2:143)

This work was extremely difficult and,
given the dangers surrounding Muslims, each and every
individual was an important contributor. All believers who
lived amongst various tribes and were scattered across the
country were thus instructed to migrate to Madinah immediately
so that the numbers of believers would be enhanced and they
would receive training directly from the Prophet (sws) in
order to understand the requirements of their faith. This
order remained in effect for several years. People who did not
migrate despite having the resources to do so were accused of
being hypocrites. The journeys made to Madinah by believers
were termed hijrah (migration) until the victory of Makkah.
After this, people who expressed a desire to shift to Madinah
were stopped from doing so.

In order to highlight the special status
of the Muslim ummah and establish its relationship with the
ummah of Abraham (sws), it was necessary to declare the House
of God constructed by him as the qiblah in the prayers of
Muslims and instruct the Prophet (sws) to give up praying
towards the Bayt ul Muqaddas.

Instruction to
acquire Custody of the Qiblah

When the Prophet (sws) was in Makkah, he
would, as stated above, stand for prayer such that he would be
facing both the Ka‘bah and the Bayt ul Muqaddas in its north.
He chose Dar al- Raqim for collective prayers by the believers
for the same reason, as it was possible to keep both these
buildings in front. He did this because instructions to
determine the qiblah had not yet been revealed from God. In
this situation, he adopted the practice of the People of the
Book. Because their qiblah was the Bayt ul Muqaddas, he
ensured that they faced both the mosques. When he went to
Madinah after migration, Makkah was in the south and Bayt ul
Muqaddas in the north. Thus it was no longer possible to
combine the two while performing the prayer. Then, as Surah
al-Baqarah was revealed, the history of Abraham (sws) was
related and the information that Abraham (sws) and Ishmael (sws)’s
supplication at the time of construction of the Ka‘bah had
been fulfilled was provided. The Prophet (sws) was following
the way of Abraham (sws) and would be given divine guidance
according to those beliefs. Additionally, the Prophet (sws)’s
nation was the same Muslim nation as the one for which those
two sincere servants of God had prayed. After the revelation
of the verses, the Prophet (sws) started to wait eagerly for
the time when instructions to face the real qiblah would be
issued. But it was the requirement of God’s wisdom that he
should continue to face the Bayt al-Muqaddas for a while
longer while praying.

In Makkah, the Prophet (sws) lived in an
environment where people around him were deeply attached to
the Ka‘bah. All those people were from the Ishmaelites. When
Islam spread in Madinah, it influenced the Aws and the Khazraj
tribes the earliest. They also belonged to the Ishmaelites.
They were also associated with the Ka‘bah, which was their
centre of veneration. The Bayt al-Muqaddas was the qiblah of
the Israelites. Therefore, the Ishmaelites found it difficult
to accept the Bayt al-Muqaddas as the qiblah. However, they
were successful even in this difficult trial. The Jews in
Madinah were large in numbers and influential. They were
attached emotionally to the Bayt al-Muqaddas. What should have
happened is that, seeing that their qiblah was the same as
that of the Muslims, they should have accepted the new faith,
the features of which they recognized and that had the same
qiblah as them. This did not happen. They showed disdain and
generally opposed Islam. When the instruction to change the
qiblah came, it became even more difficult for the Jews to
accept it. Hence, the instruction on the direction of the
qiblah became a trial for everyone who had accepted Islam in
the first 15 years, and for everyone who held sympathies with
the People of the Book after this period.

17 months after the Prophet (sws) came to
Madinah, he was ordered to face the Abrahamic qiblah.
According to narratives, the Prophet (sws) prayed the first
salah of ‘Asr after the revelation of this instruction. A
follower went to a mosque and found that believers were
praying while facing the north. He spoke out loudly and
declared on oath that the qiblah had been changed and that he
had just come after praying under the Prophet (sws)’s imamah.
Hearing this, all those present turned and repeated their
prayer facing the ka‘bah. The memorial to this incident is the
Masjid-i Qiblatayn in Madinah. Before this instruction, the
Jews were under the vain impression that Islam was a faith
subservient to theirs, because its qiblah was the same as
theirs. If anyone accepted Islam, he still followed the same
qiblah. After the adoption of the ka‘bah as the qiblah, the
Jews began objecting openly, criticizing Islam for removing
people from their original qiblah when they accepted Islam:
was qiblah something to be changed frequently? In this manner,
it became possible to distinguish between those who were true
or false among the Jews and those who had accepted Islam with
insincerity.

Qiblah is the spiritual centre of any
nation. When we stand for prayer facing the qiblah, we make a
practical demonstration of the fact that we are turning away
from the world and are connecting to our centre for spiritual
purification so that we obtain some part of the blessings and
favours of the next world. People who do not appreciate this
fact wonder at the significance of the structure built of big
and small stones in Makkah. They are surprised at why we
circumambulate with so much devotion and are always seeking
its direction, whether travelling or staying in a place. These
people do not see the sincerity and connection with God, with
which two of God’s favourite servants built it under
instructions from Him and then populated it with their
prostrations to Him. They made sacrifices for Him there and
kept it as their centre of attachment. Most significantly, God
declared its relationship to Himself and named it His House.
What can be a more sacred and venerated place than God’s House
which a nation can consider its centre? So many good people
have been associated with it in every age and its traditions
are so noble that its significance in the collective ethos of
the Muslim nation is the same as that which the heart occupies
in the human body. Just as the body has no existence without
the heart, so too is the Muslim nation meaningless without its
qiblah.

The change in the qiblah was ordered in
Rajab, 2nd hijrah according to some narrators, and sha‘ban 2nd
hijrah according to others. This order contained the message
for the Quraysh that the House of God which they were
occupying was the qiblah of the Prophet of God and his
companions and there was no reason for people who had proved
themselves to be false in their promises and treacherous to
remain in control. Therefore, Muslims would not refrain even
from killing them to recover their qiblah. In our view,
custodianship of the qiblah was one of the reasons for the
Battle of Badr. Because preparations for the Battle of Badr
had begun during the early days of Ramadan, it is likely that
the instruction to take custody of the qiblah came in Rajab.

The Underlying
Principles of Instructions for Killing

When, after the custody of the qiblah,
the Muslim nation emerged as the inheritors of the legacy of
Abraham (sws), with all its distinct characteristics, the
enmity and jealousy of the People of the Book increased
multifold. When the Quraysh came to know of this, they saw the
expectations which they had entertained for the Prophet (sws)’s
failure in a strange environment being destroyed. They saw
that the plant of Islam had gained roots in the soil of
Madinah and was about to become a strong tree. They felt that
it was necessary to take corrective action there and then.
Thus, both the Jews and the Quraysh began to prepare a
combined strategy for war.

The Prophet (sws) and his companions were
informed that since the Muslim nation had become eminent after
the custody of the qiblah, their opponents would try to
suppress and destroy it. Hence issues related to fear, danger
of loss of life and property and scarcity of food would arise.
They were to handle these trials with patience, determination
and courage. To do this would require them to intensify their
prayer and develop the quality of perseverance. The Quran gave
a plan with reference to the enemy’s attacks, so that as the
situation emerged and became clear, necessary arrangements
could be made according to the plan. This plan was as follows:

Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not
transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors. And
kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from
wherever they have expelled you, and fitnah is worse than
killing. And do not fight them at al-Masjid al-Haram until
they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them.
Such is the recompense of the disbelievers. And if they cease,
then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Fight them until
there is no [more] fitnah and [until] worship is [acknowledged
to be] for Allah . But if they cease, then there is to be no
aggression except against the oppressors. [Fighting in] the
sacred month is for [aggression committed in] the sacred
month, and for [all] violations is legal retribution. So
whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same way
that he has assaulted you. And fear Allah and know that Allah
is with those who fear Him. (2: 190-194).

The summary of the plan of implementation
given to the Muslims in these verses is as follows:

1. If the disbelievers of the Quraysh started war, Muslims too were to come to the
battlefield. Their battle would be fighting in the way of God,
because the purpose of the disbelievers was to destroy God’s
religion and its followers.

2. Even if war was declared in holy
months, it was to be fought through a counter attack, but it
was not to be extended for an unnecessary period. In that war,
the faithful would not hold the holiness of the months sacred
on a one sided basis.

3. Muslims were not to begin the
attack within the boundaries of the Mosque. However, if the
disbelievers did not refrain from that, they could be fought
there as well.

4. Killing was then necessary and
was to be continued until Islam became supreme in the country
and the disbelievers stopped opposing it.

5. Once victory was achieved, the
disbelievers were to be expelled from the country. They were
to be killed wherever they were found and no asylum was to be
given to them.

6. If the disbelievers accepted
defeat and mended their ways, there was to be overarching
amnesty for them. Those who did not desist would be acted
against.

All future actions were taken in the
light of this plan of implementation and the Prophet (sws)
kept these guiding principles in mind when dealing with the
Quraysh in war or peace related matters.

Removal of a Misunderstanding

Some of our well wishers spend their
writing efforts to prove that Islam is a religion of peace and
reconciliation. Why would it relate with war and shedding of
blood? Hence, whenever the Prophet took up arms, it was in
defense. All his battles were those that were imposed by the
Quraysh upon the Muslims. If this had not been the case, the
Prophet (sws) would not have picked up the sword. On the other
hand, our enemies claim that Muslims adopted banditry after
migration and that they would stand along well used highways
on the lookout for caravans and would attack them to loot
their wealth. The Quraysh were forced to attack Madinah to
teach them a lesson. Had the Muslims lived in Madinah in
peace, there was no reason for the enmity between them and the
Quraysh. Both these views are neither proved from the Qur’an,
nor from the incidents that have been narrated by ancient
biographers.

As far as the Qur’an is concerned, it has
clarified that if the teaching of Islam were that oppressors
be left free to oppress and torture people and good people be
prevented from fighting them, the world would be full of the
chaos and evil of bad people. The worship places for God would
have been destroyed. The churches of Christians would not have
existed, neither the synagogues of Jews nor the mosques of
Muslims. It was necessary to give the faithful the right to
fight and kill in order to save the world from this situation.
They would thus face those who create chaos. They would arm
themselves with equipment of war so that they could create awe
and fear among their enemies, who may thus be prevented from
oppressing others. Particularly, in the case of the Prophet (sws),
it has been clarified above that he had been informed while he
was in Makkah that the earlier form of divine punishment for
the Makkans would be they would be defeated and would run away
from the battlefield. The faithful were instructed to kill at
the time of migration. They were told that when the time came,
they were not to avoid war but were to take revenge from the
Quraysh for their oppression.